Merry Christmas 2014

This week we are posting some old photos of Christmas in South Australia 

All photos are courtesy of The South Australian State Library

A 'Y' class steam train, decorated for Christmas, pictured with its crew and other men at Gladstone. A raised water tank behind the train is advertising 'Burford's - circa 1900

The photos below feature Adelaide Christmas Pageant floats featuring Father Christmas, Noah's Ark and Nimble on Grenfell Street outside the Rigby newsagent and Cole's Book Arcade

Father Michael Ryan

Father Michael Ryan:

Father Ryan first arrived in South Australia with Bishop Murphy in the year 1841, and was the first Roman Catholic priest On South Australian soil; he held the high ecclesiastical positions of Vicar-General and Apostolic Administrator in his time.
He was the first Catholic priest to say Mass in Kapunda in 1845
Father Ryan was appointed with the task of building a church in Kapunda.
Father Ryan found a suitable place to hold mass for those who couldn’t get to the St Johns church; the area is now where Kapunda Institute stands. Eventually, he chose the site for St Rose of Lima church to be built. The original church has since been destroyed and a new one built in its place.
On the 3rd of April 1864, Father Ryan performed a wedding ceremony for Horace McKinley and Martha Craig.


On 15 August 1864 Father Michael Ryan laid the foundation stone for the Sevenhills church at Sevenhill.
Father Ryan died of apoplexy on 24th August 1865 (Historically the word "apoplexy" was also used to describe any sudden death that began with a sudden loss of consciousness, especially one in which the victim died within a matter of seconds after losing consciousness.)

At his funeral, it was stated
“Father Ryan was a pious and zealous member of the Catholic Church— a man of modest and unassuming manners. In him, the members of his Church have lost a truly benevolent pastor, the poor a ready counsellor, and the needy a friend.”

James Yates

James Yates

In 1850, Adelaide was a small colony with very little to do once work had finished for the day. Gaol Executions, although distressing and grotesque, attracted large crowds of onlookers.
The execution day of James Yates was no different. On that day, the crowd grew to six hundred strong, despite the inclement weather.

Yates had been found guilty of murdering a Shepard at Skillagogee Creek. A fellow workman known locally as “The Sergeant” because of his past military service.

 Yates was found guilty of a brutal murder by way of repeated blows to the head.
He denied any wrongdoings in court, claiming loudly that he was innocent, and later that it was self-defence as the old Sergeant had been quite drunk and came at him first.

Yates hanging was a horrible one, with the knot of the noose getting caught behind his neck, and his constant struggling witnessed by the large crowd. He was eventually let down, and his body evaluated before being buried inside the stone walls of The Adelaide Gaol.



The following poem was written by condemned man, James Yates, this poetry, although badly written, was heartfelt and in appreciation of his lawyer, Mr G.M. Stephen, for his tireless, although unsuccessful, efforts to save him from the gallows.

If I had always refrained from drink 

and paid attenshion to the word of God 

I never would have had to have rued the day 

Or on the wretched scaffold to have trod

Since i have now come to this untimely end 

And in this world i found one onely friend 

Who tried his utmost for me to defend 

I hope God will reward him in the end

His honner the guge to me he has proved kind 

Nearley three weeks he has gave me to make up my mind 

For this wicked world to leave behind 

And in the next i hope soon my God to find

I was brought up by my tender parents 

Who always was to me so kind and free 

But little did they ever think 

That I should di on the gallows tree

James Yates

Eerie Experiences

Eerie Experiences

This week, two South Australian stories of "Eerie Experiences" submitted to "The Australian Woman's Weekly" in September 1964


First Published in “The Australian Women's Weekly: Wednesday 16 September 1964”

During the war, I was a member of the A.W.A.S. stationed in a country town. One day I was involved in an accident, and during the time it took for me to be extricated from the wreckage; I yelled over and over, "Mum! Mum!"
On recovering consciousness in the hospital, I was handed a telegram from my mother 600 miles away. It read, "What has happened? Are you all right? Love, Mum."
I discovered that at the moment of the accident she heard me as if I were in the next room screaming for her. She sent the telegram and was in a state herself until she heard from me.
MRS. J. COLLINS, Woodville, S.A.

First Published in “The Australian Women's Weekly: Wednesday 16 September 1964”

"SHORT-LEGGED GHOST," North Adelaide.

My home is old and rather large. All the main rooms open into a long passage. For several years I often had the feeling, as I walked down this passage, that I was being followed.
If I turned I would see, out of the corner of my eye, a sudden movement as though something about two and a half feet high had just raced out of sight.
This experience was never frightening. It was rather like having a very inquisitive pet that was also very timid.
I came to think of this movement as "he."
One day while I was in the sitting-room he must have become especially curious, for when I pulled the door open to go out, there he was in the doorway.
In the second before he moved I saw that he was very short and thick-set, his head was unusually large and oddly flattened on top, and his face was waxen in texture, although I saw no features. As he scuttled off I saw that he had very short legs.
The poor little thing must have been badly frightened, for I have not seen him since. Still, it's not every day one frightens a short-legged ghost.

Cemetery Superstitions

Cemetery Superstitions

Something a little different to the normal "History, Mystery and Paranormal" here on The Haunts of Adelaide;  Superstitions, particularly Cemetery Superstitions.

These superstitions come from across the world and some are somewhat grotesque to our modern sensibilities, but no doubt were essential ways of thinking regarding dealing with death at the time.

 Witches: 
An old superstition for people accused of being witches was to bury the alleged witch face down in the coffin.  It was believed that this would stop the witch breaking free and digging her way out to cause trouble again.
  Strangely this custom was also adopted for any families whose firstborn infant that passed away. It was also customary for the married couple to never have any more children as a curse would fall upon those children’s heads.

Men Only: 
  In one part of Northern Ireland, there is a cemetery where only Men are buried, and only Men can visit. It is said if women dare to step foot in the graveyard, the spirits will rise and eject her from their burial grounds.

Saints:
  In France, there is a cemetery where there are over 7000 Saints buried in a predominately Catholic religious area. Visitors must remove their shoes, as a sign of respect when entering this “Holy Place”, and those who don’t, often befall bizarre accidents within the grounds, and sometimes on their way home.

Pipes & Tobacco: 
  Another old custom is to leave a pipe and tobacco for the last person buried in the cemetery to have some comfort and something to do. It was often thought the last person buried had the duty of protecting the cemetery until the next person was buried (In some cases, that person could be a guard for eternity).

Harbinger of Death:
  Another strange belief in some areas is that the last person buried in a cemetery in a year would be the harbinger of death for the following year, going about the local village collecting the souls of the newly dead!

Dead Wells: 
  Have you ever wondered why some ancient cemeteries have wells located in them? Most people wouldn't drink from that well as they would believe the bodies buried so close would taint the water, but in actual fact, the well was put there for the dead to drink from!
  It was an ancient held belief that the dead were an extremely thirsty bunch. So cemeteries started installing wells and leaving wooden bowls for the dead to take water back to purgatory, so everyone could satisfy their first in the afterlife!

Cemetery Dirt: 
  The Irish started the custom of placing cemetery dirt upon the body of the dead before it was lowered into the cemetery grounds. It is seen as a blessing to the already buried souls in the cemetery and thought to settle them from causing problems, not only for the newly interred but also for the local townsfolk. This custom was never undertaken for those who committed suicide.

  Cemetery soils are blessed by Priests, usually, the whole cemetery will be sanctified, although this may not be the case with current modern multi-religious cemeteries, which may choose to only bless the very area where someone is buried.
The ground is thought to contain special powers because of the blessings, and for this reason, cemetery dirt is often used in witchcraft practices and Voodoo magic.

Westward: 
  Another old religious custom is to bury the dead with their heads pointing west. You may have noticed some older cemeteries, the heads of the dead all point west and their feet east, this was because it has long been written that The Last Judgement will come from the East – so the dead should be facing Jesus when he arrives.

©2014 - Allen Tiller

The Elliston Massacre

The Elliston Massacre

  The coastal township of Elliston, located some 650 kms from Adelaide, on South Australia's Eyre Peninsula, is a small beach-front town known for whale, sea lion and dolphin spotting on the tranquil waters of Waterloo Bay.
  Elliston also featured one of the largest murals in the southern hemisphere, covering 500 square meters. The mural was painted by local artists and community members.

  The area was first described by Matthew Flinders in his ship log in 1802. The area was further explored in 1840 by Edward Eyre on a journey to Western Australia. The township didn't acquire its name until 1878 when Governor Jervois noted it on a regional map.

  Many Aboriginal mobs called this area home and camped on the outskirts of the small town as they moved between ancient tribal sites. Little did they know they would play such a large part in this communities dark disturbing future... 

  In 1836, colonial settlers made their way onto the Eyre Peninsula to farm the vast fertile plains. Some of the European settlers decided the land in the area we now call Elliston was sufficient for settlement, farming and fishing. So they made plans to start their small community.

  A mob of about two hundred Aboriginal people lived on the outskirts of Elliston. Two young Aboriginal hunters went about the business of bringing food back to the tribe. On their journey, they came across a farm where sheep were being kept. The farmer who owned the property arrived home and took note of the two Aboriginal hunters. The next day, after the usual counting of heads of sheep, the farmer noted four sheep had gone missing. He linked the missing sheep to the two Aboriginal hunters he had seen the day before and reported the missing sheep and the two hunters to the local police.

  Local police troopers descended upon the camp of the closest Aboriginal mob and began asking who stole the sheep from the farmer the day before. The Elders replied that no one had taken any sheep. The policeman was suspicious and asked; “Who went out hunting yesterday?”
  The mob named the two men, knowing they had done no wrong, and told the police trooper they came back with a wombat and a kangaroo. The officer suspected the Aboriginal elders were protecting their hunters by lying about the sheep. He arrested the two hunters, who spoke no English and locked them in the gaol.

  Weeks later a judge was sent from Adelaide for the trial of the two hunters, which was held in a large barn in Elliston. The Aboriginal hunter's mob stood outside in the dark, watching through holes in the walls and through tiny windows, listening as their hunters were accused.
  The hunters, who spoke no English, professed their innocence in their native tongue. The hunters told the judge they hunted wombat and kangaroo, but the judge couldn’t understand them and said, “Hang them! Give them an example. Show them what will happen if they steal again!”

  The townsfolk took the two Aboriginal hunters and hung them that night in the centre of town. The two bodies were left swaying all the next day as a warning to the Aboriginal people. The Mob wept and mourned their lost family members and the next night cut them down and took them away to bury them in their own custom. While some of the tribe cut the young men down, others sneaked through the town to the building where the Judge was sleeping, they coaxed him from his slumber with a "whoobu-whoobie" ( An Aboriginal device that can sound like a horse neighing, or a dog growling) and knocked him unconscious.
They then hung the white judge from the very spot he had hung the Aboriginal hunters.

   The next morning, when the townsfolk found the judge hanging, they banded together and formed a posse. The local police trooper rounded up horsemen from farms and told the local farmers of the Judge's murder.
   The posse rode to the Aboriginal camp and herded the tribe, men, women, and children, together, any that tried to escape were shot, whipped or beaten with sticks. The posse herded the tribe to the local cliffs and forced them off the side to their deaths.

   Only four Aboriginals from the tribe survived the brutal justice of the townsfolk. Three teenagers, one girl, two boys and a baby. The baby survived by its mother taking the full impact of the fall. The teenagers that survived lay quiet and still, waiting for some time as the white men at the top of the cliff looked for survivors to kill. Eventually, the posse moved on and the children made their escape down the beach towards Streaky Bay.

  The news of the massacre spread swiftly among the Indigenous mobs and they began to flee the area towards Talewan, and the Gawler Ranges, not wanting to suffer a similar fate at the hands of the merciless white folk of Elliston.

   History repeats, and within ten years, the townsfolk of Elliston, repeated their horrible massacre of more local Aboriginal tribes near the local "sweep holes", for very similar reasons to the first massacre. After the second massacre, it is believed that no Aboriginal people have ever lived in Elliston.

It was well documented that when a farmer killed his sheep in the town, the Aboriginal mobs would collect the guts and whatever was left and use it for their own purposes if there was no food from their own local resources.
The only evidence the Police had against the two hunters were tracks in the scrub.
It wasn't until many years later that the Aboriginal men were proven to be innocent, two white men admitted to stealing the sheep to start their own farm in a nearby town. The two Aboriginal men were hung for no reason, and a whole innocent tribe was killed for the death of one man, who had not given a fair trial to a fellow human being.

Local legends persist, and amongst Mobs in the area, the place is considered cursed. It is said that amongst the cliffs where the Aboriginal Mob fell to their deaths, at times, their voices, screams and cries can be heard. Reports of phantoms have also been made near the cliffs and near the sweep holes.

References:

Iris Burgoyne: The Mirning - We are the whales - published by Magabala books 

Black armband Blogspot 

Wikipedia 

Elliston Community Website 

Across the bar to Waterloo bay: Elliston 1878 - 1978. - Compiled by the Elliston book committee 

A special Thank you to Andrew Brown who reminded me of this story!

Original story was written Dec 6. 2011

Edited 31/1/2012: © 2013 -Allen Tiller

www.eidolonparanormal.com.au

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War Tunnels

War Tunnels

A new train and train line, with a newly completed viaduct and tunnels in Belair, was quite an achievement. Although, South Australian's did not expect to see men standing around in the fields near Blackwood, wondering why their new shiny train could not make it up the steep incline, and so it was in 1883 when 200 of Adelaide's most proper gentleman were invited on the first trip of Adelaide’s new train line into the Adelaide Hills (As reported in the Observer March 17th 1883).


With the outbreak of World War One, the Sleeps Hill tunnels and railway line became very important to our wartime communications, and to transport between States. Armed military guards were posted at either end of the tunnels to stop any espionage attempts.
When the war ended in 1919, a new line was installed, and the railway lines were removed from the old tunnels (the last train ran through there on August 11th, 1919). Instead, the tunnels now served as a picnic and exploration area for many local people.


In 1932, an enterprising young man came up with the idea of using the tunnels to grow mushrooms. He removed the gravel floor and brought in tons of fresh dirt. He planted his first crop, looking to a bright future of all-year-round fresh mushrooms for South Australia.
However, it wasn’t to be, as unforeseen causes saw his business take many blows. Firstly, an endless supply of unwanted brown snakes found their way into the warm, dank tunnels. Then mould and fungus disease obliterated his crop...and to top it all off, vandals broke in a destroyed what little he had left.
His mushroom dream finally ended after an outbreak of the fungus “Chatomium” spread through his crop, a disease brought to South Australia from infected mushrooms from Herefordshire, England.

In 1938, the old tunnels now stood empty once again. In 1942, the Japanese bombed Darwin, and an outbreak of invasion hysteria captured the South Australian government. They decided the old Sleeps Hill tunnels would be the perfect place to hide the State's many artistic treasures and important documents.
Plans were made, and the shorter of the two tunnels was overhauled with ventilation shafts, electric lighting, and thick brick walls at either end with heavy iron doors.
A Jarrah platform running 700ft and 18 inches high was installed running the full length of the tunnel. Next, the tunnel was divided in half down its width and divided into sections. A small hand cart was then used to place the State's treasures into their new homes.
Armed troops stood guard as endless trucks of treasures arrived to be unloaded and hidden from the Japanese threat. War records on microfilm, Government x-rays, taxation documents, and other Government papers were stored inside the tunnels, alongside some of our most valuable art collections.

The Government spent a lot of money on this new storage facility, which housed not only our state treasures and documents but also a travelling painting of King George VI, which happened to be in Australia at the time. Elaborate fire safeguards were installed, and the facility was constantly monitored by the military for dampness, mould and pests.
The other tunnel played a lesser role and became storage for an arsenal of weapons and ammunition; it too was heavily guarded by our military.
The war ended, but this did not stop the military from using the 1st tunnel for the following few years.

There has long been rumour and innuendo that some of our treasures never made it back out of tunnel 1, but I am assured by a source I spoke to recently that everything was accounted for and returned to its proper place after the threat of war diminished.


Bibliography: 

1883 'OPENING OF THE LINE.', The South Australian Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1858 - 1889), 17 March, p. 2.  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33758328